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Words and Numbers 70/ An idea, congratulations and an obession

Posted on June 4, 2012

I want to pose a question. Do you think that the two party system is serving the electorate in America? If your answer is no, read on. If yes, read on. You might want to reply.

We have, presently, four major parties in the country. We’ve got the Democrats, the Republicans, the Libertarians, and the Tea Party. I don’t want to omit parties like the Working Families Party but there’s just too many to list. Are you tired of having government bounce between polar opposite rulers every eight years or so? If so listen up. I’ve got an argument for a fifth party. One that will appeal to the average voter. First a few proposals:

1) The function of government is to provide protection to ots citizens.

2) There are specific needs that are not covered by our Founding Fathers.

3) The government as it stand is in the hands of vested interests.

4) Government has become too unwieldy to function properly.

5) Our oversees interests put the populace in jeopardy.

6) Government over or under regulates parts of the system.

7) The states are able to handle some functions without Federal intervention

8) There are functions of government that are best served by the Federal government.

9) The individual is as important as the whole.

10) Education is an imperative.

11) We, as a country, should be able to harbor people whose government oppresses them.

12) We should be able to understand that democracy does not fit all circumstances.

That’s a dozen ideas. there’s more but I can’t list them all without turning this into a rant. First, if the Right had their way we’d have organized anarchy with a police force. If the Left had their way we’d scrap the whole thing, and use the national resources to heal the World. The Libertarians believe that the Right is viable but it’s too rigid. The Tea Party thinks the Founding Fathers we all white, God-fearing Christians who were superior to the native peoples and those who were transported here. They’re all wrong and they’re all right, in places.

A) This country is a country of immigrants. The sooner we admit that except for the Native Americans, our forebears all arrived on the boat.

B) We formed a government that was based on an ideal and we’ve spent the rest of the time tweaking it.

C) As a nation we have an ego that is massive.

D) We don’t like to be contradicted.

E) We don’t always practice what we preach.

F) The mechanics of our sytem of government is not condusive to the individual.

G) We ignore ideas generated by the opposition out of hand.

H) When we make a mistake, we bury it.

I) We don’t have a proper global view.

J) Our elected officials don’t reflect our best interests.

K) We can’t take a position and enforce it with any efficiency.

L) The people we elect do not know the people that elected them.

M) We as a country won’t change because it will give the impression we’ve made a mistake.

How to change: At the local level we should support candidates who have the interest of the electorate at heart. We should not be afraid to vote out of office an incumbent who has become too comfortable in his position. We have to be open to ideas that collide with our own beliefs. Candidates should be judged by the companies that keep them. We have to understand perfection is impossible, we should stop trying. The ideas of our parents don’t always work. Some of our parent’s ideas worked. The people entrenched in the political system are in it for their own good.

A lot of what I said is contradictory. Government is a construction of contradictions. We elect those who make us feel comfortable. A nation of explorers we’re afraid of the unknown. We applaud the mundane. We’ve been exporting a defective product. We bully and are bullied. The voter in America should understand the power he has. The flyers and advertisements are distractions produced by the candidates of the parties in power. The man or woman we thought was able to do a job they’ve been chosen for is inept. The people that oppose him are equally flawed. There is no security in the fringes. The center is the only place. An amalgam of ideas that work. Smaller government is a wonderful idea, but it can’t be obtained at the cost of the people who depend on it. We’ve got an elephant on a tightrope trying to juggle hand grenades. It’s scary fun to watch but can only end badly. We created the elephant. We sent people to take care of our needs with plans that seemed like a good idea at the time. On Wednesday I’ll try to put out a plan we can use to attain a functioning government.

Congratulations go out to Sister Margret Farley, professor of Christain Ethics at Yale University. She authored “Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics”. She pissed off the Pope and now he’s trying to punish her. Sister Margret is a Sister of Mercy, a group I had the pleasure/displeasure of spending time with for ten years. Sexuality is something the Catholic Church shouldn’t poke a stick at. A group of, theoretically, celibate men trying to interpret a life plan for men and women, some of whom are living in sin. The Church should either move into the twenty first century or go whole hog and break out the Iron Maiden and other implements of the Inquisition. God is adaptable. All He wants is for us to inhabit this planet without trying to kill anybody who isn’t like us.

I’ve had a thing for the Battle of Gettysburg. I watch anything that pops up about it on television. I try to read books about it and try to find ones that are entertaining as well as illuminating. Imagine my disappointment when the book club said they didn’t have “Killer Angels” by Jeff Sharra. I’ve got Shelby Foote’s “Stars in Their Courses” in the to-read pile. I’m a practioner of the School of “If One Is Good, Fifty Must Be Fantastic”. The philosophy doesn’t take into consideration time and necessity.

The story will continue on Friday. The politics will continue on Wednesday.

See you on Wednesday.

Talk to me, pass this on. You can help feed my unhealthy desire for attention.